Law Commons^™

Patenting The Unexpected, Sean B. Seymore

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Unexpected discoveries have transformed human existence. They’ve revolutionized science and spawned entire new fields of research. While unexpected discoveries seem inventive and worthy of patent protection, they don’t formally align with traditional patent theory. The bedrock principle that an invention begins with the conception of an idea in the inventor’s mind and ends with implementation doesn’t apply to unexpected discoveries. This misalignment is most acute for pharmaceuticals, where the discovery of new uses for old drugs has tremendous social and economic importance. Since a drug can inherently treat multiple conditions in a patient—even those unknown to the patient, doctor, or …

Probing The Prevalence Of Pharmaceutical Corruption, Marc A. Rodwin

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This article reviews the history and current evidence of systematic pharmaceutical industry corruption.  It draws on studies by the OECD on international corruption; reports of the Securities and Exchange Commission; studies of the Public Citizen health Research Group of settlement agreements between federal and state authorities and pharmaceutical firm; the history of the Medicare and Medicaid Anti-Kickback Act; professional and industry codes of ethics; the literature on institutional corruption; and studies of conflicts of interest.  These sources support findings of systemic corruption since the mid-20th century. The paper also explores the relationship between classic corruption, institutional corruption and conflicts of …

(Mis)Judging Suspicion, Sherri Lee Keene

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Twenty-five years ago, the Supreme Court decided Illinois v. Wardlow, a Fourth Amendment case that allowed the high-crime nature of a location to be considered in determinations of whether there was reasonable suspicion to support a police stop. In making these determinations, courts rarely acknowledge the role that race can play in decisions that factor in the nature of a location as context. Yet even when the race of a defendant is not mentioned, high-crime area designations can act as a proxy for race inviting racial bias into courts’ analyses. Reasonable suspicion analysis involves the interpretation of a suspect’s …

Conflict As Catalyst: The Role Of Conflict In Creating Political Space For Women, Christie S. Warren

Faculty Publications

Although the benefits associated with the presence of women in political decision-making positions are uncontested, global statistics relating to the number of women in political leadership roles paint a disappointing picture of underutilized resources. While rights-based advocacy, quotas, and economic incentives are commonly posited as effective strategies to increase the number of women active in public spaces, several studies have shown that the law alone is not sufficient to bring about changes in gender norms unless the underlying structural constructs that perpetuate inequalities privileging dominant groups are addressed first. Conflict, especially when driven by rejection of those inequalities, can hasten …

Article Iii's Constraints On The Legislative Power, Elizabeth Earle Beske

William & Mary Law Review

Article III’s heightened concreteness standard for statutory harms takes federal judges deep into legislative terrain, jeopardizing statutory damage provisions and confining Congress to post hoc solutions rather than preemptive strikes. The Supreme Court has insisted that creating a cause of action is a legislative function. At the same time, its recent standing cases instruct lower federal courts to permit suit on statutory injuries only when they find actual harm that bears a tight connection to injuries recognized at common law. This new harm requirement rests uneasily with countless statutes featuring statutory damage provisions that are in place precisely because damages …

Is It Credit?, Jim Hawkins

William & Mary Law Review

Earned wage access companies advance money to workers based on wages they have already earned but have not yet been paid. Then, one of three things happens to reimburse the earned wage access provider: (1) the worker’s employer sends the provider money directly, (2) the provider withdraws money from the worker’s bank account on payday, or (3) nothing. The last of these is the most interesting. If the earned wage access provider does not receive the funds from the worker’s employer or bank account, the worker just walks away. Even more remarkable, many providers do not charge any mandatory fees …

Administering Election Disputes, Rebecca Green

Faculty Publications

U.S. election administration has become supercharged with controversy. A process that should be mundane—casting and counting votes—has become the target of relentless litigation, much of which ends in non-merits rulings that risk perpetuating rather than resolving public concerns. The high volume of election litigation is costly, strains election officials, and risks eroding public trust in both elections and the courts. Recognizing the need to resolve election claims fairly and efficiently, Administering Election Disputes examines administrative remedies as an under-theorized alternative to judicial resolution. Increased use of well-designed administrative election dispute resolution (AEDR) could reduce pressure on courts, deliver faster and …

The Psychology Of A Favor: Why Hidden Witness Payments Demand A New Brady Rule, Adam M. Gershowitz

Faculty Publications

Prosecutors and the police regularly pay informants and other witnesses in criminal cases. These payments can be in the form of rewards, relocation expenses, crime victims funds, and even simple cash. Although witness payments are legal, prosecutors are supposed to disclose them under the Brady doctrine because they are favorable evidence that the defense could use to impeach the witness. Yet prosecutors often fail to disclose witness payments because of communication failures with the police, poor training, excessive caseloads, and occasional ethical lapses.

This Article examines dozens of hidden witness payments that prosecutors failed to disclose. In nearly eighty percent …

A New Standard: Default Inclusion Of Children In Clinical Trials, Megyn Gordon

Colorado Law Student Scholars

No abstract provided.

Unwelcomeness Reconsidered: Adapting Sexual Harassment Law In The Long Wake Of #Metoo, Collin Christner

Michigan Law Review

The federal cause of action for sexual harassment in employment grew out of Title VII’s prohibition of workplace sex discrimination. In many circuits, for sexual harassment claims to be actionable, the plaintiff must show they found the referenced conduct “unwelcome.” Commentators have criticized that requirement since its inception; nonetheless, it has been wielded by courts that are either resistant or reluctant to abandon it. “Unwelcomeness” (or lack of evidence thereof) has been used to permit swaths of inappropriate workplace conduct— enshrining old, sexist stereotypes into America’s employment regulations. This Note evaluates the current approach to the unwelcomeness requirement and proposes …

Reimagining Legal Education: The Transformative Power Of Small-Group Instruction, Michael I. Meyerson

Articles

Legal education is failing its students. Those entering their first year of law school have greater anxiety and less developed reading and writing skills than ever before. The traditional large Socratic class, which was never the most effective teaching method, has become increasingly counterproductive.

This Article contends that small-group instruction provides the opportunity for superior teaching, especially for first-year law students. Recent scholarship in active learning, educational psychology, and students’ mental health demonstrates the limitations of the traditional large Socratic class experience. Building on that theoretical foundation and informed by sustained classroom experience, this Article argues that small-group pedagogy more …

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internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Spis treści

Czy Refakturowanie Energii Elektrycznej Podlega Obowiązkowi Uzyskania Koncesji? Kryterium Zarobkowości W Sektorze Regulowanym, Łukasz Hawrylak, Mirosław Pawełczyk

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Artykuł podejmuje problematykę refakturowania energii elektrycznej w kontekście obowiązku koncesyjnego. Wyróżniono w nim zasadnicze cechy refakturowania i odniesiono je do poglądów wypracowanych w orzecznictwie Sądu Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów oraz praktyce decyzyjnej Prezesa URE. Dokonano również pogłębionej wykładni przesłanki działalności zarobkowej, z uwzględnieniem celów regulacyjnych w sektorze elektroenergetycznym i powiązań systemowych ustawy – Prawo energetyczne. Na zakończenie artykułu zaproponowano kompleksową koncepcję odczytania zarobkowego charakteru działalności gospodarczej w sektorze regulowanym i wyznaczenia zakresu obowiązku koncesyjnego z uwzględnieniem dyrektyw funkcjonalnych i systemowych.

Konstytucja Gospodarcza Przed Sądem – Analiza Porównawcza Wyroków Sądu Najwyższego W Sprawie Iii Sk 5/17 Oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości Ue W Sprawie C-413/14 (Intel Przeciwko Komisji), Piotr Oliński

internetowy Kwartalnik Antymonopolowy i Regulacyjny (internet Quarterly on Antitrust and Regulation)

Zarówno art. 20 Konstytucji RP, jak i art. 3(3) Traktatu o Unii Europejskiej zawiera tę samą zasadę organizacji życia gospodarczego – społeczną gospodarkę rynkową. W poniższym artykule społeczna gospodarka rynkowa traktowana jest jako obowiązująca konstytucja gospodarcza w obu porządkach prawnych. Przez jej pryzmat porównawczo analizowana jest aksjologia wyroku polskiego Sądu Najwyższego w sprawie III SK 5/17 oraz Trybunału Sprawiedliwości UE w sprawie C-413/14. Artykuł poświęcony jest poszukiwaniu odpowiedzi na pytanie o podobieństwo recepcji stojącej za społeczną gospodarką rynkową myśli ordoliberalnej w obu porządkach prawnych.

2025 Martin Luther King, Jr. Keynote Lecture, Madiba Dennie

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Press Freedom As A First Amendment Paradigm, Gregory P. Magarian

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The Press, Privacy, Expungement, And Second Chances: Shifting The Paradigm, Brian M. Murray

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Using State Sentencing Enhancements To Protect Journalists From Physical Assault, Anthony L. Fargo

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

The View From The Bar: How Media Lawyers Perceive Their Work, Jonathan Peters, Skylar Bandoly

Villanova Law Review (1956 - )

No abstract provided.

Slurry-As-A-Service: A Modest Proposal On Scalable Pluralistic Alignment For Nutrient Optimization, Rachel Hong, Yael Eiger, Jevan Hutson, Os Keyes, William Agnew

Articles

Pluralistic alignment has emerged as a promising approach for ensuring that large language models (LLMs) faithfully represent the diversity, nuance, and conflict inherent in human values. In this work, we study a high-stakes deployment context—mulching—where automated systems transform selected individuals into nutrientrich slurry for the dual purposes of food security and aesthetic population management. Building on recent pluralistic alignment frameworks, we introduce ValueMulch™, a reproducible training, deployment, and certification pipeline for aligning mulching models (MMs) to a wide range of community norms. Through a real-world testbed spanning 32 communities, we show that ValueMulch™ improves distributional agreement with community mulching preferences …

Who's Qualified? Examining Attorney Perspectives On Lpcs In The Legal System, Becca Wilson, Bernave Vega

Posters - 2026

Legal cases frequently intersect with mental health concerns, positioning Licensed Professional Counselors (LPCs) to contribute clinical expertise in custody disputes, trauma documentation, and psychological functioning. As mental health issues become increasingly central to both civil and criminal proceedings, the working relationship between attorneys and counselors carries real consequences for clients, yet LPCs entering legal settings often face challenges related to role clarity, courtroom preparation, and professional credibility. Existing research has focused primarily on counselors' forensic experiences, leaving attorney perspectives on LPC involvement largely unexplored. This gap is meaningful, as attorneys serve as gatekeepers to expert involvement and their perceptions of …

An Analysis Of Global And Regional Human Rights Standards On Gender-Based Violence, Tamar Ezer, Denisse R. Cordova Montes

Articles

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Legal Analysis Of The English And Scottish Reformations, Erin Hanson

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the legal and institutional mechanism that contributed to the decline in Catholicism in early modern England and Scotland during the Reformation period. By analyzing statutory developments, ecclesiastical court structures, and enforcement practices, it compares how each kingdom implemented religious reform and regulated religious conformity. Rather than focusing solely on theological differences, this study emphasizes the role of legal structure and legal institutions in shaping religious governance.

Chapter I outlines the historical and legal background of the English and Scottish Reformations. Chapter II examines prior literature, and Chapter III states the methodology used in this study. Chapter IV …

Yes, Dentists (And The Mda) Are Subject To Antitrust Law, Daniel Schulte Jd

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

MDA Legal Counsel Dan Schulte provides a critical overview of how antitrust laws apply to individual dentists and professional associations. The article defines illegal activities such as price-fixing, group boycotts, and market allocation, explaining that even informal agreements among competitors can trigger prosecution by the FTC or DOJ. Schulte advises dentists to avoid discussing fees or participation in dental plans with peers at meetings. The document distinguishes between "per se" violations and the "rule of reason" analysis, emphasizing that transparency and independent business decisions are essential to avoid severe legal penalties.

Regulatory Compliance Solutions That Save You Money, Reva Darling

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article outlines essential MDA-endorsed services that assist dental practices in maintaining regulatory compliance. It focuses on solutions for HIPAA, OSHA, and OIG requirements provided by Eagle Associates and highlights the importance of cyber liability insurance through Coalition. The document also features iCoreExchange for secure, encrypted email and iCoreRx for manual-error-reducing e-prescribing. By utilizing these trusted partners, MDA members can save significant time and money while ensuring their practices meet federal and state standards for patient privacy and workplace safety.

Generative Artificial Intelligence With A Human Touch: Building Hana, Conrad Johnson

Faculty Scholarship

This Essay examines how generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) can be integrated into legal education and public interest law practice in a way that meaningfully enhances — rather than diminishes — human judgment, professional responsibility, and access to justice. Drawing on the experience of Columbia Law School’s Lawyering in the Digital Age Clinic, the Essay situates GenAI within an experiential pedagogy that emphasizes competence, ethical awareness, and collaborative problem-solving. It argues that law students and lawyers must move beyond a passive or uncritical use of GenAI tools; toward a deeper understanding of how these systems operate, the risks they pose, and …

How To Transform Capitalism Through Law, Katharina Pistor

Faculty Scholarship

This essay is based on the presentation of my book, The Law of Capitalism and How to Transform It, at the University of Miami Law School on October 14, 2025. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a summary of this work in the University of Miami Law Review and to my colleagues Ingo Venzke and Martijn Hesselink, who were kind enough to offer their thoughts on it for this mini symposium.

Bad Faith Disregard Of Benefits And Science In Federal Environmental Deregulation, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Since the beginning of the Reagan administration in 1981, federal agencies have used cost-benefit analysis when making important policy decisions, especially when issuing regulations. In the years since then the methodologies have been refined and enshrined in White House guidance. The second Trump administration has upended these practices by often ignoring the benefits of regulations and only considering the costs. In doing so it often claims that there are such uncertainties about the benefits that they should be disregarded. It uses these claims in support of repealing or softening regulations that prior administrations found would save thousands of human lives.

Law Library Blog (April 2026): Legal Beagle's Blog Archive, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Law Library Newsletters/Blog

No abstract provided.

Child Support Factory: Racist History, Harm, And Unconstitutionality Of The Child Support System's Contractual Operations, Daniel L. Hatcher

All Faculty Scholarship

Within America’s justice institutions, the child support system has become a business. The intended mission of aid has been traded and abdicated through contractual deals to churn vulnerable families into factory-like revenue operations. Juvenile and family courts across the country have partnered through countless intertwined interagency contracts with human service agencies, prosecutors, attorneys general’s offices, probation departments, and policing offices—all aimed at generating revenue from impoverished children and parents rather than serving their best interests. The resulting child support factory is vast, harmful, unconstitutional, unethical, and grew from a racist history that devastated Black families, and still operates with starkly …